Rugby league legend Braith Anasta has questioned why the Tigers remain fixed to the bottom of the NRL ladder in an impassioned assessment following yet another poor performance.
Benji Marshall apologised to fans of the merger club following his side’s 58-6 Round 19 loss to the Sharks, saying “there’s no one in our team who can say they played good”.
Questions were raised regarding Marshall’s position as head coach, with The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read revealing the club was plotting a football department overhaul.
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But for Anasta, the Tigers are stuck in a never-ending rut and the man who played 31 games for the merger club at the back-end of his career was fed up.
“The fans, they must be sick of this. We talk about it for how many years now and the fans get the s**** with us because we talk about it,” Anasta said on NRL360.
“But it’s like we have to because here we are again talking about is he the right coach? Are they making the right decisions?
“What have they got wrong with the roster? Who is going to be in the coaching staff next year?
“We do this every bloody year but why? We used to blame the old leadership and all of a sudden they are gone and the problem is still there.”
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Tigers boss Shane Richardson threw his support behind Marshall to dispel doubts surrounding his future, saying: “In Benji we trust”.
“I’ve got no doubt he’s going to get the job done for us. I’m 100 per cent supportive of him moving forward,” he added.
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“I’m planning everything around Benji being here long term and helping our younger players come through as better footballers. We’ll be OK.”
Veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield echoed Richardson’s comments and backed the rookie coach to succeed, disputing past criticism of his work ethic.
“Anyone who has questioned his work ethic… I rang him yesterday to check how he was going and it was a really interesting conversation,” Rothfield said.
“The previous night he got home from Cronulla at midnight, he turned his tape on. Two-and-a-half or three hours of making notes, stop, start, pause.
“He jumps into bed, doesn’t get three hours sleep and then he’s over at Concord for a review with the players.
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“Even though he went to Fiji… I think we can say he’s putting in the hard yards but I think there’s much bigger issues there.”
As it stands, Marshall has both Robbie Farah and John Morris as his assistant coaches, however Farah could be set to depart the club at the season’s end.
Read revealed that Richardson is set to make moves in the off-season and he hopes to add an experienced assistant to aid Marshall in turning the Tigers’ fortunes around.
But Rothfield revealed that Marshall turned down one of the most experienced coach’s on the market prior to taking over ahead of the 2024 season.
“Benji had an opportunity last year, before Richardson came Justin Pascoe was in charge,” Rothfield said.
“They had an opportunity to get Justin Holbrook and Holbrook is doing some great work under Trent Robinson.
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“Benji knocked that back, Benji wanted the young staff he was going to be comfortable with which is Robbie Farah and John Morris.
“As part of these changes… I’m, not too sure Robbie Farah will be there. It isn’t a sacking, I think he has other things in his life he wanted to do.”
Rothfield also went on to explain that Marshall’s coaching experience has been minimal compared to other rookie coaches across the competition.
Jason Ryles, who has recently been appointed Eels head coach in 2025, has previously worked under both Trent Robinson and Craig Bellamy.
Meanwhile, Craig Fitzgibbon, who is in his third season in charge at the Sharks, also completed a lengthy apprenticeship at the Roosters.
Meanwhile, Marshall spent less than a year under Tim Sheens, leaving a big gap in his development before taking a head coaching job.
“You guys know Benji’s problem is his apprenticeship,” Rothfield said.
The good coaches have been with Trent Robinson, they’ve been with Wayne Bennett and they’ve been with Craig Bellamy.
“Benji to have one year under Tim Sheens to have one year under Tim Sheens who had been out of the comp, that’s not a good apprenticeship.”
Source Agencies
